Linux Mint Forums

Hi guys,

I'm planning to put Mint LXDE on my netbook instead of GNOME on my netbook (ASUS 1201HA, ATOM processor, 2 gigs of ram). I've read some good reviews about it, that it runs very fast. Specially on low-end desktops. What do you think? Has anyone experience with installing LXDE on a netbook? Did it run a lot faster than GNOME?

Thx in advance.

I've tried The LXDE version of Mint on 2 netbooks both with Atom N455's and 2 GB of RAM and a decently powered laptop with a Core2 Duo and 4 GB of RAM and honestly I couldn't tell much if any difference in apparent performance. It does use a little less RAM but it didn't "feel" any faster. Where I think LXDE really shines is on old computers where those few MB's of RAM mean a lot. I installed Debian 6.0 LXDE on a IBM Thinkpad with a 600MHz P3 and 256MB of RAM.(Mint didn't work because the graphical installer would crash, not enough RAM) It was slow compared to my other computers(obviously) but actually usable which was a pleasant surprise. I've tried just about every variant of Mint, Ubuntu and Debian and I keep going back to the 64 bit GNOME version except for special cases like the Thinkpad.

I have a Asus Eee 1001P with a Intel N450 Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM and I run Mint 10 (GNOME). It's not fast but it runs ok. I have tried to install Mint 9 LXDE but it didn't boot. I tried Crunchbang (Debian based) and Archbang and both were faster but in the end I like Mint 10 better. I also have LMDE on the netbook and runs fine. I am waiting for Mint 10 LXDE final to test it again.

To JasonLG: I had no trouble installing Mint 9 LXDE on a virtual machine with 160MB and in a 366MHz Celeron with 256MB RAM. All I did was to create a SWAP partition before running the LiveCD.

nunol wrote:To JasonLG: I had no trouble installing Mint 9 LXDE on a virtual machine with 160MB and in a 366MHz Celeron with 256MB RAM. All I did was to create a SWAP partition before running the LiveCD.

Right on thanks for the heads up. No worries though Debian LXDE is a lot faster and lighter then Mint LXDE anyway.

JasonLG wrote:Right on thanks for the heads up. No worries though Debian LXDE is a lot faster and lighter then Mint LXDE anyway.

Yes it is!

i have the eeepc 1000 ssd netbook. love it

had the stock linux iinstalled a while, then switched to eeebuntu which i was using till a week ago. i run mint on a desktop and it was time for an upgrade on my netbook. mint it is!

so i tried lxde mint 10 rc.. it was GREAT (after installing jupiter). exept the power button didnt turn it off anymore , nor did the thing sleep when i shut the lid.. i fought with it for 2 days..
finally after finding that my manual nfs mounts never refreshed in the pcmanfm i was like F THIS.

mint linux gnome 32 version.. bam. everything worked out the box.

done. and HAPPY.

and just as snappy i should add.

Mint 10 (GNOME) runs ok on a netbook. I only don't like to click on the menu button and wait for a few seconds for it but otherwise it works well.

This thread looks long since over. But it's late, I'm bored and spacing per usual, so why not add .02 cents ?

Agree with Jason ... probably others too. Had I bothered to read them before jumping ahead to post. A fast system w 2gigs of RAM. Anything you install on it should be fast. Though logic dictates anything that is quality and tested software and uses less system resources is likely to be snappier.

What's the point of having 2gigs of RAM installed, if it never gets used ? On the old dinosaur box I'm sitting in front of diff story .. 512mb's of massive raw power !!! So am learning to luv xfce and now fluxbox is actually starting to appeal. Neat lil desktop really.

Either that or could drop a couple bucks and 45 mins and install some added RAM. Or use one of the lappies sitting around. But have actually grown fond of this old thing. It's got heart ...

He has 2GB but the CPU is not fast. Add Firefox to a heavy desktop like GNOME and KDE plus a music player in the background, plus a transmission, etc and it becomes slow especially with flash heavy sites.

Theres a interesting review here, Pentium IV Vs Atom: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ato ... ,2649.html
More Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Atom#Performance

I find that Crunchbang Xfce is the best "regular" distro for resource-challenged systems (based on Debian, and with all the perks of Xfce).

Crunchbang is very good but I like the Openbox version best. Debian LXDE is another nice light distro but it needs some work to install codecs, wicd/NM, etc.

I just use Mint(10) a sweet stable version, all you need to do is turn off the compiz effects (who needs wobbly windows!!) and it's quick.
to give an idea of ram usage on my machine:
LXDE 108mb
Openbox 112
Gnome 166 (that's with nearly all compiz effects off)

Why does your "Openbox" use more RAM than LXDE?

Just for another point of reference. With Cinnamon 1.3, a dock, conky, weather applet, and full desktop effects on I am only using 800 mb of ram with a single firefox browser with 5 tabs open. This is the 64 bit version. So netbooks with 2 gigs of ram should have no issues at all...especially if you don't use the extras.

nunol wrote:Why does your "Openbox" use more RAM than LXDE?

havent a clue.